Walmart have started selling the new iPad before Apple stores in the US will open, while countries including Britain, Japan and Australia have started selling the famous Apple device.

According to Bloomberg on Thursday, March 15, 2012, Walmart, dubbed as the world’s largest retailer said on an emailed statement that they will be selling the new iPad 8 hours before US Apple stores will open.

As noted in the report, the new iPad was made available at Walmart starting Friday at 12:01 a.m. (local time), while Apple stores in the US will sell them when they open at 8 a.m. also that day, where hundreds are currently in the lines waiting.

As reported earlier, among the key features of the new iPad includes the new A5X application processor, a Retina Display, and a 4G LTE mobile broadband connectivity, with prices in the US to start at $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, and $699 for 64GB.

Walmart’s Apple new iPad sale adImage Credit: Walmart.com

Apparently, Apple will sell its new iPad initially in 10 countries which includes the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, where observers say they are expecting it to be a big hit.

Meanwhile, Apple stores in some countries have already opened and start selling the new iPad since they are ahead in terms of time zone such as Britain, Japan and Australia, which was the first one to get hold on the much-awaited Apple device.

As reported at the Wall Street Journal, around 200 people stretched around the block outside Apple‘s flagship store in Sydney on Friday morning when it open, as police and security personnel kept the shoppers in line.

Nevertheless, Business Week noted that a 37-year old man named Stephen Parkes said he was the first customer into the Sydney store and lined up four days ago, noting that he was paid around $1,000 by freelance employment website Airtasker.com.

Likewise, more than 450 people in an Apple outlet in Ginza, Tokyo, stood in a long line that stretched to around two blocks away and began piling up as early-morning commuter trains started running; and continued to increase when the stored opened.

On the other hand, British news sites reported that almost the same scenario happened outside the Apple outlet in Regent Street, London with around a dozen of them spent overnight outside the store.